Vasyl Lomachenko won a 12-round unanimous decision over Jose Pedraza to retain the WBA and win the WBO Lightweight title at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Rounds were competitive over the course of the fight, with Lomachenko landing the more memorable shots throughout. Pedraza did his best to slip and move while mixing in some offense in an effort to slow Lomachenko. The Ukranian fighter, who is atop many pound for pound lists just had more in his arsenal.
In round eleven, Loamchenko opened up on Pedraza as he hurt him with a hard left him. Lomachenko continued to land hard and flush punches against Pedraza, who was barely punching back. The result of that onslaught were two knockdowns that came seconds apart. Lomachenko tried his best to close the show, but Pedraza was game and showed his veteran tactics to hear the final bell.
Lomachenko, 134.4 lbs of Akermann, UKR won by scores 119-107 and 117-109 twice and is now 12-1. Pedraza, 134.2 lbs of Cidra, PR is 25-2.
“It was my dream to unify titles,” Lomachenko said. “It was my next goal. I can now focus on my next chapter.
“He’s a veteran. He did a very good job, and I respect Pedraza and his team.”
Said Pedraza: “I am happy with my performance tonight. I went 12 rounds with the best fighter in the world. I knew what we were going up against. I thought it was a close fight until the knockdowns. At the end of the day, I am proud of what I did.”
Emanuel Navarrete won the WBO Super Bantamweight title via 12-round unanimous decision to dethrone Isaac Dogboe.
Although not pretty at times, Navarrete pushed the action as he featured body shots. Dogboe retreated for most of the bout. Dogboe suffered swelling over his right eye in round nine, and never got into a rhythm.
Navarrete, 122 lbs of Mexico City won by scores of 116-112 twice and 115-113 to improve to 26-1. Dogboe, 120.8 lbs of Accra, GHA is now 20-1.
“I thank Dogboe for this opportunity,” Navarrete said. “This world championship represents every day that I was working away from my family. This title represents sacrifice. I injured my right hand early in the fight, but I had the desire to be a champion and I did everything necessary to get the title, and I am very happy and proud to achieve this goal of being the world champion.”
Said Dogboe: “It was a great fight, and Emanuel Navarrete fought like a true Mexican warrior. Champions are supposed to keep going under any circumstance, but I just couldn’t get the victory. The best man won tonight.”
Top prospect Teofimo Lopez blew out Mason Menard in the 1st round of their scheduled ten-round lightweight fight for the USBA/NABA/NAF titles.
Lopez rocked Menard in the opening seconds of the bout, and then uncorked a perfect right to the jaw that had Menard plummet face-first on the canvas, and the fight was immediately stopped at 44 seconds
Lopez, 135 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 11-0 with nine knockouts. Menard, 135 lbs of Rayne, LA is 34-4.
“I knew he was a tough fighter. I knew he could fight,” Lopez said. “I wanted to test him, and I took a chance early in the fight. I know he trained hard, and he didn’t want it to go that way. But this is ‘The Takeover.’ ‘The Takeover’ has begun.
“In 2019, I will be a world champion. That’s a guarantee.”
Brian Ceballo remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Daniel Calzada in a welterweight bout.
Ceballo, 147.8 lbs of New York won by scores of 40-36 on all cards, and is now 6-0. Calzada, 147.5 lbs of Denver, CO is 16-20-3.
Alexander Besputin remained perfect by winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Juan Carlos Abreu in a welterweight bout.
In round one, Besputin dropped Abreu with a straight left.
Besputin, 146.6 lbs of Oxnard, CA won by scores of 100-88 on all cards, and is now 12-0. Abreu, 146.8 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 21-5-1.
“He fought a very uncomfortable, dirty fight, but I dominated,” Besputin said. “I am ready for a world title fight next.”
Italian Olympian Guido Vianello made a successful pro debut with a 2nd round stoppage over Luke Lyons in a heavyweight bout.
In round one, Vianello dropped Lyons with a hard right hand. In round two, Vianello dropped Lyons with a combination and the fight was waved off at 29 seconds.
Vianello, 236 lbs of Rome, ITA is 1-0 with one knockout. Lyons, 239.8 lbs of Ashland, KY is 5-2.
“It was a dream come true to make my professional debut at Madison Square Garden,” Vianello said. “I hope I did Italy proud. I came here tonight to score a knockout, and I delivered.”
Josue Vargas stopped John Renteria in round five of a scheduled eight-round super lightweight bout.
In round two, Vargas dropped Renteria with a left hand. In round four, he sent Renteria down with a right hook to the head.
Vargas, 142.6 lbs of Bronx, NY is 12-1 with eight knockouts. Renteria, 142.8 lbs of Panama City, PAN is 16-6-1.
In round five, Vargas finished off Renteria with a combination that put him on the canvas, and the bout was stopped at 31 seconds
Abdiel Ramirez stopped Michael Perez in the final round of their eight-round super lightweight bout
In round four, Perez dropped Ramirez with a hard uppercut.
Ramirez came back to hurt Perez in the final round with a right hand. He followed that up with two crushing uppercuts that dropped Perez, and the bout was stopped at 54 seconds.
Ramirez, 142.4 lbs of Ciudad Juarez, MEX is 24-3-1 with 22 knockouts. Perez. 142.4 lbs of Newark, NJ is 25-3-2.
